The Gotham Connection
by PaBurke
Summary: Is it possible to steal for good? If so, what would be in a Vigilante’s shopping cart? Numb3rs/JLU crossover
1. Chapter 1

The Gotham Connection

By PaBurke

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I own neither of the universes nor the characters. I was curious to see if a NUMB3RS / Batman crossover was possible and this is what happened.

Summary: Is it possible to steal for good? If so, what would be in a Vigilante's shopping cart?

Distribution: The Nook, The CalSci Library

Spoilers: None really.

Word Count: 300

"Don," Charlie's breathless voice said as soon as the FBI agent opened the phone. "I need your help."

Don spoke slowly to calm his brother down. "What's wrong?"

"Someone had a spybot on my computer."

Don frowned. "You got a virus and you're calling me?"

"This is no ordinary spybot," Charlie warned. "It wasn't tracking my Internet usage. Well, it was but it wasn't."

"Charlie," Don warned.

"It was very specific in what it wanted from me. It tracking all my analysis work for the FBI. All the equations I've developed to solve cases, it copied and sent somewhere."

"It was stealing your _math_?"

"Yes."

Don smirked. "Okay," he drawled. "What could someone do with it?"

"If they understood it, they could apply some of it. Others, they could work backward and figure ways to circumvent my math next time around. Don, it's everything from handwriting analysis to organizational charts to tracking money flow. There's a lot of information there, some the FBI is starting to regularly apply to cases. If they sold the information, or published it, it would be a compromised tool."

"But it would be useless to someone who didn't understand it?"

"For the most part."

"So how many people understand your math to begin with. There can't be that many."

"Funny Don. Oh and Amita tracked the spybot transmission to Gotham but lost it in the city."

"Really," Don couldn't resist teasing. "Gotham? Maybe Batman is using your work."

"Please," Charlie scoffed. "He's nothing but a two-bit vigilante who spends all his time building muscle. There's no way that Batman could understand this."

****

Batgirl and Robin shared a motorcycle as they sped after the Batmobile. "How do you think he always knows where the bad guys are?" she asked.

"I have no idea. He just does."

*


	2. Chapter 2

The Gotham Connection II

By PaBurke

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I own neither of the universes nor the characters. I was curious to see if a NUMB3RS / Batman crossover was possible and this is what happened.

Summary: Is it possible to steal for good? If so, what would be in a Vigilante's shopping cart?

Distribution: The Nook

Spoilers: None really.

Word Count: 600

Larry entered Charlie's office shaking his head. "Just when I thought that our communication had improved, Charles."

Charlie looked up from his position over Amita's shoulder. "Larry, what's wrong?"

"If you had a problem with my math for my super-gravity equations, why didn't you just tell me instead of changing it yourself?"

Charlie was confused. He and Amita had spent every spare minute the last weeks trying to track down the spybot that had been on _her_ computer. Though they hadn't followed the trace to Gotham yet, they were sure that the trail would end there. "Larry," Charlie said slowly, "What are you talking about?"

"My research, the math has been changed, one of my constants has been changed by a whole order of magnitude. It is changed in such a way that supports my theories, but don't you think I would have liked to be consulted before you changed it?"

Amita stared up at Charlie, "You don't think…"

Charlie was already out the door, "…That our mysterious Gotham snoop was in Larry's computer as well? Yes, I do."

Larry looked at Amita, who was hurrying to follow her boyfriend. "What is going on?"

"You know about the spybot that has been copying all Charlie's work for the FBI?"

"And Charles is worried that someone will use his work for ill, yes."

"Well, when I was running a search for some of the code, the computer found it in my computer. Though the code is similar, we are pretty sure that the answer lies in Gotham."

Larry could follow this train of thought easily. "And now you believe that this same snoop has been tracking _my_ research? Of what possible use could super-gravitational theory have for someone in Gotham?"

By this time, Larry and Amita had entered the physicist's office to find Charlie hunched over the keyboard. Charlie looked up at the two of them. "It was definitely our Gothamite. And I hate to say it Larry, but it looks like he…"

"Or she…" Amita inputted.

"Or she," Charlie corrected himself, "to into account a variable that neither you nor I did."

"The elliptical rotation," Larry remembered. "It was sound theory, which is why I first thought of you. I apologize, Charles."

"It's okay," Charlie grinned. "Not everyone could have come up with that connection, or knows your research well enough to realize that it was missing."

"It does answer one question that we've had," Amita said.

Charlie was already reaching for his phone to update Don. "Our spy is smart enough to use our work any way he pleases."

*****

Bruce Wayne sat down at the Bat Computer, a super computer that had no equal. He checked a couple of open programs. Then he read a low priority message, the CalSci professors were stubborn in their tracking of him. In all honesty, Bruce wasn't worried. The professors were definitely the tops in their field, but Batman was the top in his. Wayne industries had sold or distributed most of the computers in the city and to a good portion of the East Coast. There was a back door that made it seem that the Bat Computer was anyone who owned a Wayne computer.

Aha, it seemed that Fleinhart had found his corrections to the professor's research. And accepted them.

Good.

The Justice League had barely returned home alive from that –in Alfred terms- beastly mission, which had involved a black hole. The sensors in the Javelin had given Bruce enough to back calculate a correction to Fleinhart's gravity theory. It was nice that something good came out of that debacle.

*


	3. Chapter 3

The Gotham Connection III

By PaBurke

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I own neither of the universes nor the characters. I was curious to see if a NUMB3RS / Batman crossover was possible and this is what happened.

Summary: Is it possible to steal for good? If so, what would be in a Vigilante's shopping cart?

Distribution: The Nook

Spoilers: None really.

Word Count: 200

For once, Gotham was perfectly quiet. No crazies, bank robbers, or even muggers hurting innocents. With record-breaking high temperatures, everyone was inside enjoying the air conditioning.

Everyone but the Bat family.

Robin and Batgirl watched the city from a high tower. Since nothing was happening down below, they had turned off their mikes and filled the time with talk and a bit of flirting.

Finally Batgirl asked, "What do you think he's doing?"

Robin snorted. "Having a night off that he wouldn't give us."

"Seriously? What does he do for fun?"

That had Robin stumped. Finally he joked, "Hang upside down in the cave?"

*****

Batman was in the cave. It was probably the coolest (temperature wise) place in Gotham. While the super computers kept an eye on suspicious bank transactions, he paused to enjoy some frivolous reading.

He opened Dr. Eppes research files on cognitive theory and read. He was anticipating the day when Dr. Eppes could measure such activity. Batman wanted to see how Martian, Thenagarian, Kryptonian, or Amazonian cognitive abilities compared with humans, both normal and the residents of Arkham.

But until the day of Eppes' breakthrough, Batman had to content himself with chasing robbers, crazies and predators.

*


	4. Chapter 4

The Gotham Connection IV

By PaBurke

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I own neither of the universes nor the characters. I was curious to see if a NUMB3RS / Batman crossover was possible and this is what happened.

Summary: Is it possible to steal for good? If so, what would be in a Vigilante's shopping cart?

Distribution: The Nook

Spoilers: None really. Five or so years after Gotham Connection 3.

Charlie, Larry and Amita gazed around the famous Justice League Orbiting Tower in awe. Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash and the other superheroes of the world had gone public in the last couple of years and they had created the League and the Tower. Now the CalSci professors were here too. Charlie's research proposal had been accepted by the League and he had claimed Larry and Amita as co-writers (they had helped). So now the three had been invited aboard the Tower to study cognitive emergence on the host of heroes housed here.

"What are you doing here?" a voice demanded.

The three turned and there stood one of the original seven; Hawkgirl.

"You're lost," Hawkgirl said. "But you have no map. You do not have the correct uniform. You don't belong up here. How did you pass through security?"

"How could she tell about the uniform?" Larry asked as he eyed a four-some of superheroes walking by in colorful getup.

"We're here to do research," Charlie tried to explain.

"On what?" Hawkgirl asked.

"Oh, a host of items," Larry demurred.

"Like what?" This superhero was especially dogged.

Charlie stepped in between. He didn't want his friend to catch all the ire that he deserved. "Cognitive emergence."

"You're studying us?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Excuse me?" Charlie clarified.

"One of the rules we have here. It helps reassure all the varied people working here: No one experiments one us. Ever."

Charlie was frightened by her grin. "But we got a letter and security clearance to get this far. Perhaps an exception was made. After all, in my proposal I postulated that I could tell when a body was taken over by a different entity than the one that belongs within."

Hawkgirl stomped away.

"That was disturbing," Amita muttered.

"Don't let her get to you," the trio jumped at the new voice. Yet another one of the original seven stood there. The Flash grinned in all his red glory. "So you got the okay to study our brains. Can I see your letter?"

Charlie handed it over without comment.

It took less than a second for the Flash to zip through all five pages. "This looks like the Bat's work."

"Batman?" Larry clarified.

"Yep. He's the smart one. It says here that he has a suite set aside for your use. It's on level one-oh-six. I can walk you there."

"That's very generous," Amita said.

Flash grinned. "I'm that kind of guy."

Charlie insinuated himself between the superhero and his girlfriend. "What can you tell me about Batman? Why would he know about our research and our proposal and accept it? Will we be studying his brain with the others?"

"Tons. 'Cause he would. And I doubt it." Flash pressed a button. "Going down?"

"Perhaps we should separate the questions, Charles," Larry said. "Sir…"

"Flash," the superhero corrected with a smile. "No one calls me 'sir.' Superman and the Martian will accept 'sir' and you better call Bats 'sir.' But just use everyone else's code name. Be normal. We are trying not to be stuck up up here in the sky."

"Technically we are in the atmosphere, not the sky." Larry couldn't stop himself from saying.

Flash patted him on the back cheerfully. "See you're getting the hang of it already."

"Flash, we have been suspicious of someone watching and reading our research –for years." Charlie said. "They have been copying our work and at times adjusting, correcting it. Do you think that Batman was behind that?"

"Cognitive emergence? Yeah, Bats would be interested in that."

"Oh," Charlie grinned, slightly self-conscious. "We do a lot more that cognitive emergence. Our peeper has been very interested in our computational work for the FBI and with Larry's super-gravitational theories concerning black holes. And he seems to find our work, no matter how many computers we switch to."

Flash laughed. "FBI work? That's right up Bats' alley. And your research acceptance makes more sense now. Bats hates to owe any one."

"Even if he stole the information?"

"Especially if he stole the information from people like you. This was the only way that he could pay you back. And I think there's another reason."

"Oh?" prompted Amita.

"He couldn't do the analysis himself," Flash smiled again. He seemed to be a rather friendly person. "I know that the Bats' time is at a premium and he can delegate some of the work, but Gotham is always in trouble. So he killed two birds with one stone –very Bats like- you do the work that needs done, so he can work on something else. And he gets to return a favour in a way that no one else can."

Charlie released a little resentment that he had been feeling and asked curiously. "How smart is Batman?"

"Very."

"Self-taught?"

"I think so. I mean with all that he can do, it'd be way too easy to track him through the educational process if he needed teachers."

Amita giggled a little. "Charlie, surely you aren't thinking about your committees?"

"Why not? Even if Batman doesn't want to join CalSci as a non-traditional student, he obviously knows enough to teach. He could a fill a spot in my schedule as a guest lecturer."

Flash laughed hard. "Bats as a teacher?"

Larry shrugged his shoulders. "He obviously feels a need to transfer his learnings to the younger generation. He has had a veritable slew of sidekicks."

Flash had no argument for that. He suddenly realized where they were. "Aha! We have arrived." He waved at a closed door. "Knowing Bats, I'm betting that your handprints are already programmed into the door. Go ahead. Try it."

Charlie pressed his palm against the scanner.

"Dr. Eppes," the computer voice greeted him. "Welcome." The door slid open silently, waiting for them.

Amita shivered. "That's a little spooky."

Flash waved a hand (in a blur). "You get used to it." Flash was the first one into the room and looked around. "There are the computers. I'm pretty sure that Batman has all the raw data that you'll need in there. Oops! Looks like Bats missed a trick. There's three of you and only two bedrooms. I'll see about getting you a different suite."

Charlie set his luggage by the door slowly. "Actually, Batman didn't miss anything. Amita and I are a couple."

Flash sighed dramatically. "The saying about the pretty ones is true. The good ones are already taken. Any way. The cafeteria is fully stocked (with coffee) and it's just two floors down. Feel free to go there any time. It's open all hours."

"Thank you, Flash." Larry said.

"Hey," Flash shrugged. "It'll be nice to have some sort of way to know when a body's been stolen. It happens too often."

"I just have one more question."

"Okay."

Larry peered up at the superhero. "Are you a scientist as well?"

Flash stopped still for a full moment. And stared. And then laughed. "Where would you come up with that?"

"Your mention of coffee and ease with the data."

Flash was still laughing as he walked out the door. "You are the first person who would ever make that conclusion. I'm the practical joker of the group. Hey if you have any ideas that I can use, I'll use them and take the blame." He was still laughing as the door closed behind him. Flash looked back at the door nervously. "Okay Bats," he muttered. "Now I know why you didn't show up to show your guests around, but you couldn't warn the rest of us?"

*


	5. Chapter 5

The Gotham Connection VI

By PaBurke

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I own neither of the universes nor the characters. I was curious to see if a NUMB3RS / Batman crossover was possible and this is what happened.

Summary: Is it possible to steal for good? If so, what would be in a Vigilante's shopping cart?

Distribution: The Nook

Spoilers: None really.

Word Count: 400

"Dr. Eppes," Charlie turned in surprise. Why would Millie be so formal? Then he saw who the Department Dean was dragging his way. That face…?

Beside him, Amita breathed in surprise. "Bruce Wayne?"

Wayne grinned at Amita since she recognized him. "Yes. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

Millie took over the introductions. "Bruce Wayne, these are two of our star professors, Doctors Charles Eppes and Amita Ramanujan. They have just returned from conducting a study aboard the Orbiting Justice League Watchtower."

"Delighted." Wayne never took his eyes off Amita.

"Mr. Wayne is here to investigate our Non-Traditional Student Program. Dr. Eppes recruits and runs the vast majority of it."

Wayne briefly glanced at Charlie. "Can you send the info to this e-mail address at Gotham U? We need something like it."

Millie was nodded urgently, so Charlie said, "Sure."

"Thank you." Wayne once again focused on Amita. "Are you interested in dinner? I'm sure that you have many interesting stories from the Watchtower."

Amita was irritated at this rich man's forwardness, and she didn't appreciate flattery. "I'm sorry, but Charlie and I have a lot of data to correlate."

Wayne's face fell. "I'm sorry. Well, if you're ever in Gotham or wish to teach on the East Coast, I'm sure that I can get you a position at the University."

"Thank you," Amita attempted graciousness.

Wayne turned back to Millie. "Thank you for your time as well."

Millie beamed. "Always a pleasure. Will you be back to cut the red ribbon at the new building with your name on it?"

Wayne shrugged. "It all depends on what else is scheduled for that day." He glanced at his watched. "I've got to go; Alfred will be waiting for me. It was nice to meet you all."

The three watched him go. Charlie unrolled his suddenly tense shoulders. "I don't know if he could have been more abrasive if he had been trying. He just doesn't fit in at CalSci."

The females nodded in agreement.

*

Waiting in the car was more than Alfred, Wally West was shaking his head in disgust. Bruce Wayne sat beside the Scarlet Speedster and held out a hand. Wally reluctantly handed over a fiver.

"Not even suspicious," he moaned.

"You know how the second identity works."

"But you do it so well. In a city filled with Hollywood actors, you can beat them all."


End file.
